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Landscape Copy safer to stay silent THE CHILLING EFFECT OF RWANDA’S LAWS ON ‘GENOCIDE IDEOLOGY’ AND ‘SECTARIANISM’ amnesty international is a global movement of 2.8 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. amnesty international Publications first published in 2010 by amnesty international Publications international secretariat Peter Benenson House 1 easton street london WC1X 0DW United Kingdom www.amnesty.org © amnesty international Publications 2010 index: afr 47/005/2010 original language: english Printed by amnesty international, international secretariat, United Kingdom all rights reserved. this publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. the copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. for copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. Cover phot o: Courtroom in rwanda, november 2009. © amnesty international CONTENTS GLOSSARY...................................................................................................................5 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................7 SUMMARY................................................................................................................7 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................9 BACKGROUND........................................................................................................10 2. LEGAL ANALYSIS AND AMBIGUITY .........................................................................13 OBLIGATIONS AND COMMITMENTS TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ..........................13 ‘GENOCIDE IDEOLOGY’ AND INTERNATIONAL LAW ..................................................13 ‘DIVISIONISM’ AND INTERNATIONAL LAW ...............................................................15 AMBIGUOUS LAWS THAT CREATE CONFUSION........................................................17 3. CASES UNDER THESE LAWS ..................................................................................19 NUMBER OF CASES................................................................................................19 FAILURE TO ADEQUATELY INVESTIGATE ACCUSATIONS ..........................................20 POLITICAL MANIPULATION TO SILENCE DISSENT ...................................................20 PROSECUTIONS FOR STATEMENTS MADE ABROAD .................................................22 PERSONAL MANIPULATIONS OF ‘GENOCIDE IDEOLOGY’ ..........................................24 4. CHILLING EFFECT..................................................................................................26 PUBLIC DENUNCIATIONS BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ...........................................26 HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTATION AND ADVOCACY.................................................26 EFFECTS ON THE MEDIA ........................................................................................28 IMPACT ON THE RIGHTS OF DEFENDANTS ............................................................. 29 5. RESPONSE OF INTERNATIONAL ACTORS ............................................................... 32 6. GOVERNMENT REVIEW OF THE LAW ...................................................................... 34 7. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................ 35 TO THE RWANDAN GOVERNMENT .......................................................................... 35 TO THE RWANDAN LEGISLATURE ........................................................................... 36 TO THE RWANDAN NATIONAL PUBLIC PROSECUTION AUTHORITY .......................... 36 TO RWANDA’S DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS .............................................................. 37 ENDNOTES ............................................................................................................... 38 GLOSSARY ACHPR: African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation CID: Criminal Investigations Department EU: European Union FARG: Genocide Survivors’ Assistance Fund (Fonds National pour l'Assistance aux Rescapés du Génocide) FDLR: Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda) FDU-Inkingi: United Democratic Forces – Inkingi (Forces Démocratiques Unifiées – Inkingi) ICCPR: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICTR: International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda LIPRODHOR: Rwandan League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (La Ligue Rwandaise pour la Promotion et la Défense des Droits de l’Homme) MDR: Democratic Republican Movement (Mouvement Démocratique Républicain) NGOs: Non-governmental organisations NPPA: National Public Prosecution Authority PDP: Pact for People’s Defence (Le Pacte de Défense du Peuple) PS-Imberakuri: Ideal Social Party (Le Parti Social Imberakuri) RFI: Radio France International RPF: Rwandan Patriotic Front RTLM: Radio Télévision Libre des Milles Collines UNDP: United Nations Development Programme UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees VOA : Voice of America SAFER TO STAY SILENT 7 The chilling effect of Rwanda’s laws on ‘genocide ideology’ and ‘sectarianism’ 1. INTRODUCTION SUMMARY Rwanda’s laws on “genocide ideology” and “sectarianism”, more commonly known as “divisionism”, were introduced in the decade following the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Up to 800,000 Rwandans were killed during the 1994 genocide, most of them ethnic Tutsi, but also some Hutu who opposed this organized killing and the forces that directed it. Aware of the role that hate speech1 and the infamous hate radio Radio Télévision Libre des Milles Collines (RTLM) played in inciting genocidal participation,2 the post-genocide government led by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) enacted laws to encourage unity and restrict speech that could promote hatred. Following six years of extensive reforms to the conventional justice system, the Rwandan government announced a review of the “genocide ideology” law in April 2010. Amnesty International welcomes this government initiative. This report identifies Amnesty International’s concerns about the current legislation and its application in light of the Rwandan government’s review process. Prohibiting hate speech is a legitimate aim, but the Rwandan government’s approach violates international human rights law. Rwanda’s vague and sweeping laws against “genocide ideology” and “divisionism” under “sectarianism” laws criminalize speech protected by international conventions and contravene Rwanda’s regional and international human rights obligations and commitments to freedom of expression. The vague wording of the laws is deliberately exploited to violate human rights. Prosecutions for “genocide ideology” and so-called “genocide ideology-related” offences were brought even before the law defining this offence was promulgated. People continue to be prosecuted for “divisionism”, under “sectarianism” laws, even though “divisionism” is not defined in law. Rwandans, including judges, lawyers and human rights defenders, expressed confusion about what behaviour these laws criminalize. These broad and ill-defined laws have created a vague legal framework which is misused to criminalize criticism of the government and legitimate dissent. This has included suppressing calls for the prosecution of war crimes committed by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). In the run-up to the 2010 elections, legitimate political dissent was conflated with “genocide ideology”, compromising the freedom of expression and association of opposition politicians, human rights defenders and journalists critical of the government. Index: AFR 47/005/2010 Amnesty International August 2010 8 SAFER TO STAY SILENT The chilling effect of Rwanda’s laws on ‘genocide ideology’ and ‘sectarianism’ Individuals have exploited gaps in the law for personal gain, including the discrediting of teachers, for local political capital, and in the context of land disputes or personal conflicts. Several “genocide ideology” and “divisionism” charges based on flimsy evidence resulted in acquittals, but often after the accused spent several months in pre-trial detention. Many such accusations should have been more thoroughly investigated, but broad laws offer little guidance to the police and prosecution. The cumulative result of these laws is to deter people from exercising their right to freedom of expression. This chilling effect means that people who have yet to have any action taken against them nonetheless fear being targeted and refrain from expressing opinions which may be legal. In some cases, this has discouraged people from testifying for the defence in criminal trials. The laws have had a corrosive effect on mutual trust in a society already fragile after the 1994 genocide and run counter to the government’s stated commitment to national unity. At times, the Rwandan
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